Presser-foot mechanism.



H. A BALLARD.

PRESSER FOOT MECHANISM.

APPUCATION man JAN. 2B. 1909.

191393626, Mmm May-15, 191.5.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

- deze se eeieuui emee.

HARRIE A. BALLRI, EIBQSTDN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE yIBOYLSIIONMFG. GMPMYY, OF SOUTH BOSTUN, MASSACHUSETTS, A 'COBEORATION OF NEW"erenssnsssoor MECHANISM.

urgeei eppcesioii ngusi el, 1912, Serial No. 331,529. Divided and. thisapplication le January 28. 1389. Serial No. 474,670.

Be it known thai; l, Humain A. BALLARD, of Boston, in @ne county ofSuolk `and Sule of lilessachusees, have invented ce1'- 4ifziin new sinduseful `lmprevemenit-s in ,Presser-Fool; Mechanism, ef which thefollowing is e specilicution.

This inventien relates 'lo shine-seeingA macliines snol morepariiculnrly to the threadclernping mechanism :und presserfoot mecha.-nisin'oi suoli machines, and the pres-ent ap plicution is s division ofmy epplicaion Serial No. 31,529, ile August .21, 1906, which resulbeclin U. S. LettersV Pai/eut i,098,8?=1. The presseroet es shown is non'axially lielcl upon elle Werl; by lie force of e spring enel is lackedancl'unloclred suitomuticslly and is automatically raised from the Workor released to permit feeding of 'the work. Tli'ebneeclle lireed iseuometically clampeil end i'eleesefl at appropriate inervais. Mechanismis provided for euomniicullyunlocking and raising 'or releasing liepresserlieot and. for releasing #the needle tlireufi'l] et the 'saine'lime when lie c power sliufof the machine is turned in the reversedirection, lo the enrl that tl'ie operalor muy quickly enfl easilyremeve the forli from llieinachine when a sewing 'or Seeking speelse'has been enigme, 'ne power :shaft is proviclerl wiih a na-ncl Wheel byvvluieli elle epcreior m25] menually guru ille slief in lie reversedirection when a sewing or stitching operation has been Enislsefi, ioeiieci elle release ofi' the Work by lelle preeserfoot und to eiliectlhe release of the needle f lne forni in which che invention may beemboiiiecl is illustraierl upon lthe eccomifinjfing drewings andflescriloecl in the llowing specification.

0n the flrawings, Figure represents :i righi side elevaion of nshoe-sewing nu chine equipped with presseroo: mechaside.

nisin anni thread-clamping mechanism a1'- i'nnged and consii'uced inaccordance with his invention. Fig, 2 iepresens a, vertical Seel-ioniiiu'ougli the liescl as seen from the left lined sifle. Fig. 3represents an elevetion of n. fragment of the presserfoot' lockmeclmnismus seen from the righiJ hand Fig. 4 is e Seel/ion on line -i-i of 3.Fig. 5 is adetail of liliemechanism fer ucizusting ilie tliree clamp.

Specification of Letters Patent.

sents a carrier therefor.

formed in ille awl carrier. This connectie Patenied Maly i8, i915.

- sentially a head or frame 10, e cam sha-ft l1 journaled therein, andstitch-forming mechanism including an oscillatory needle 1.2, an evvllf3, a Work rest 14, a looper for the needle thread, and a shuttle., noishown, but presumably contained in u eesing i6.

17.. represents@ presserfoot and 18 repre- Tlie seid carrier is in theform of a lever, and its fulcruln is indicated et 19. The rear end ofthelever 18 is eonnec'ced lo -one end of a spring 20 of which elle otherend is connected to a suit# alole xture 21. The tension of the spring 20is exerted at all times for the purpose of holding ithe presserfoottoward the work v resiI 14.- With which it coperatesto clamp the workinserted between them. The ewl 13 is cerri'ecl by nawl carrier 22 whichis meunled upon e stud 23 about whicli'it. is adapted to oscillate inunison with `the needle. Tile awl earlier, however, receives 'medioneward and. from the needle for the purposeef eeing the Work, and orthisreason the stud 23 about 'which il, oscilletes is mountell in an arm 24carried by ecm`- riage 25 arranged in suitable guides extendinglsterallyor parallel lo elle axis of the stud .23., The means for reciprocal-ingthe carriage 25 includes a leverv 26 mounted upon a. ulcrum 27 andhaving ai: one end' a roll 28 in coperaive engagemen'l with a Cain 29 onthe Sheff'. ll. The needle 12 is afxeci to s needle carrier 30 which ismounted upon a stud, not slioivn, I about which it is aaptecl tooscilla-te. The means for actuating the needle carrier includes a crankBl ou the shaft; ll. sind pinnen 32 connecting the crank with theneeolle c arrier. The axis about which the needle carrier moves is inA:ilinementwith that of the unl Carrier :1nd the tivo carriers areconnecked so tha ilievinav lee oscillated in unison by 'the crank andpinnen., 'alflie means for connecting the two carriers -1s a form of pinnndvsloly connection, and .11n-

cludes ula'erally extending-pin ing from che needjle carrier into avslrollj provides for the independent lateral move 'j ment of the awlcarrier for the purpose of Without affecting lthe ing the actuation ofthe stitch-forming mechanism. For this purpose, thel presserfoot lever18 is provided with a pawl 36 which is adapted to coperate with astationary ratchet 87 attached to the frame 10.

The relation of the pawl and ratchet with the presserfoot lever is such4as to prevent movement of the presserfoot .away from the work rest.

Suitable means is provided for holding the pawl normally in engagementwith the ratchet and vfor disengaging the paWl therefrom. According tothe present invention this may be done in three ways. First by actuationof a handle 38, second, by means of a cam 39 mounted upon the shaft 11,and third, by means of manually reversing the 'direction of movement ofthe cam shaft.

The pavvl 36 is formed on one end of a member which is mounted upon twopivots 40 and 41. The pivot 40 is carried by a plunger 42 arranged so asto slide in guides formed on the lever 18. The pivot 41 connects thepawl member with one end of a rod 44 of which the other end is pivotallyconnected to the handle 38. A spring 45 connected tothe rod 44 and tothe plunger 42 exerts its tension so as to hold the paWl normally inengagement with the ratchet. Whenthe handle 38 is moved tothe rearagainst the tension of the spring 45, it rst disengages the pawl fromthe ratchet and then engages a pin 46 on the lever 18 (see Fig. l) andby furtherl movement oscillates the lever about its fulcrum 19 thusretracting the presserfoot. The handle 88 is here shown as also mountedupon the fulcrum 19. I Q

The plunger 42 is provided with an ear 47 against which a spring 48contained in a socket in the lever 18 exerts its tension for the purposeof pressing the point of the pawl toward the ratchet. Means-is provided,however, for automatically retracting the plunger 42 so as to disengagethe pawl .from the ratchet prior to the feeding movement of the carriage25. For this purpose, the plunger is provided with a pin 49 which isadapted to be engaged by an arm 50l secured upon one end of a rockshiaft 51 journaled in a bearing in the head 1 hold the presserfoot'vided for in carrying out vention, and are #brought about by retract,presserfoot in still another`way. Before proceeding to the explanationof'. in which the presserfoot may r it will be necessary to de'-Vfulcrum 19 when the A shaft 5l is also provided with an Y arm 52 onwhich is a roll 53 eccupyingthe cam groove 39. Oscillatory movement1mparted tothe rock shaft 51 byl means of the cam causes the arm 50tolpietract the plunger 42 and so release the paval i in which the pawlis disengaged'by movelment of the handle 38, the pvot 40 remainsstationary and constitutes the fulcrum about 'which the pawl swings,while in the.

latter case in which the pawl-- is automati-f cally retracted, the pivot41 rernalns stay `'1o. It will be noted that, in the rst instancetionary and constitutes the fulcrum during and the awl must be clear ofthevvorli,n thepresserfoot 17 must be raised so aSO-,re-

lease the Work, and the needle "tl1regni,

which is indicated at a, shouldbegfree sof#- that the work may beremovedbefore fthe,

thread is cut. These conditions are allp'ro the presentining the thethird Way be retracted, scr1be the means herein shown for clamping theneedle' thread at the proper intervals..V

during the operation ofthe stitch-forming mechanism.

Theneedle thread Lv-may be drawn from any suitable source of supply, therear of the machine, and tension 54 and takeup rolls y before passingthroughthe looper 15. These elements may be of any desired constructionand arrangement, and are supplemented by a pair'of coperative clampingmembers 60 and 61 which are as usual for thepurpose of clamping thethread during the setting of a stitch. y shown as mounted upon theApresserfoot lever 18, one of said members being`in the form of form ofpassed over a a slide movable toward and from the roll, and adapted t0enter the groove to bind the thread. The slide 61 is mounted in guides62 and is reciprocated by meanspf an arm 63 with which it has a p in andslot connection, p the p' v.being indicated at' 64 the-Slot. at 65.curved so that it shall be concentric to th tion shown. This enables thearm 63 to maintain the Slide 6l in engagement With the roll 60regardless of movement of the presserfoot lever about its fulcrum.

The arm 63 is affixed upon a rock shaft 77 which is journaled in asuitable bearing in the frame 10. 'Said rock shaft has a two arm lever78 by which it may be actuated. One arm of the lever 78 extendsdownpreferably at arm 63 is in the posi- 55, 56 and 5'1"` The clampingmembers are here a grooved roll and the other in the The slot isprefer"lily:,.A`

Macnee wardly in the form of a. handle and is normally pressed in onedirection by means of a spring 66 contained in a socket 79 formed uponthe frame. The eect of the spring 66 is to force lever 7 8, rock Shaft77, arm 63,

, and slide 6l so aS to bind the thread on the roll with a yieldingtension which is removed only when the shaft T7 is rocked in oppositionto the spring 66. For this purpose, the other armot the leve;l 7 8 isprovided with ay roll 6T which occupiesla groove G8 formed in a cammember 69 on the shaft 11. The width of the groove'GS is greater thanthe diameter of the roll 6T and thus permits movement of the lever 7Sindependently of the member GS). The cam revolves in the direction'indicated by vthe arrows in Figs. 1, 2 and 5, and is provided withinwardly projecting portions and 71 formed on the outer Wall of thegroove 68. Although the spring 66 tends to force the roll 67 against the-outer wall oi"v the cam groove, the coperative engagement of the twoclamping members 60 61 prevents contact with the outer wall at allpoints excepting the portions 70 and 71 which effect the retraction ofthe slideV 61 at the proper intervals. The function of the portion 70 isto release the needle thread at the time when a supply is being drawnfor the succeeding stitch, and the function of the portion 71 ishereinafter explained.

Referring now to the third manner in which the presserfoot may beretracted, it Should be noted that the plungerl carries pivot stud 72 onwhich is mounted a linger J3.' .Aspring 74: (see Figs. 3 and 4) isconnected to the pin 49 and to the pin extending from the finger 73, andnormally exerts its tension so as to hold the free end et the finger inengagement with the periphery of a cam disk 75 mounted upon ,the shaft11.

. The drawings illustrate theniachine in the f clamping members are incoperative enlocked by means of the pawl 36.

gageinent, and the presserfoot lever 18 is The sev-` eral actuatingelements are so related and timed" that by turning the shaft- 11backward through approximately one-eighth of a revolution, the awl maybe retracted vfrom the work, the thread clamping members may be releasedand tlv.` presserfoot lever ma y be first released from the `atchet 37and then rt rant-ed. lin the periphery o1" the cam disk Tf gainst whichthe finger 73 is normally l: recess the face 76 oi' which ahnte againstthe free end otthe finger 7?) .when theshaft is reversely rotated.Reverse rotation of the shaft thus-causes endwse movement of finger 73,and such movement causes the plunger l2 to slide in its guides 43 untilthe ear 17 strikes the lever 18. Further endivise movement of finger T3is transmitted by the plunger 42 to the lever 18 to retract thepresserf-oot from the work. The sliding movement ot' the plungerrelatively tothe lever disengages the locking pawl 36 from the ratchet.3T, thus unlocking the presserlfoot-lever preparatory to retractorymove` ment of the latter. At the same time the port-ion T1 on the cam 69engages the roll 67 and thereby rocks the shaft 77 so as to disengagethe thread-clamping members, and the crank 3l on the shaft 11 is turnedsuiiiciently to retract the awl from the work. When the various partsare moved tothe positions described, the work is entirely free and maybe readily removed So that the needle thread a may be convenientlysevered.v v Having thus explained the nature of my said invention anddescribed a Way of constructing andusing the same, although withoutattempting to set forth .all of the forms in which it may be made or allof the modes of its use, declare that what l claim is 1. In a machine'of the character described, a presserfoot carrier, a hand lever, saidcarrier being arranged to be movable independently of said hand leverand said hand lever being arranged to be movable independently of saidpresser-foot carrier, means arranged to lock said presserfo'ot carrier,and means arranged to be operated by said hand lever to move saidlocking means to unlock said carrier, said carrier having` an abutmentarranged to be engaged by said hand lever to retract ysaid carrier.

2. In a machine of the character described, a shaft, a work support, apresserfoot, a carrier for said presser'oot, a spring arranged tocausesaid presserfoot to coact with saidavorlt support, means arrai'iged tol.loc-lv: said carrier, driven means arranged to act upon said lockingmeans periodically to unlock said carrier when said machine isoperating, a .rotary driven member, a movable member arranged tobe movedby said rotary driven member when said shaft is turned opposite to itsoperating direction,v

and means arranged to transnnt such movement'from said movable member toimpart unlocking movement to said locking means and to impartret-ractory movement to said carrier, said movable member beinginefvfectual to operate said transmittingdmeans when said shaft isturning in said operating direction.

3. In a machine of the character referred to, complementalstitch-forming mechanism, a pressert'oot, a pressrloot-lever` a fulcrumfor said lever, a stationary ratchet, springpressed pawl on saidpresserioot-lever for normally engaging said ratchet, 'automatic vengage said abutment means for periodically disengagng said paWl fromsaid ratchet, and a thread-clamp in combination with .means on the mainshaft for simultaneously unlocking and lifting the presserfoot andunlocking the thread-clamp upon a reverse movement of said shaft.

4. In a machine of the character de scribed, a presserfoot and levertherefor, a fulerum for said lever, normally coacting members forlocking said lever, an abutment on said lever, a hand lever mounted onsaid fulcrum independently of said presserfoot lever, said hand leverbeing adapted to to move said presserfoot lever, and means operable bysaid hand lever for actuatingone of said locking members to unlock saidVpresserfoot lever.

5. In a machine .of the character referred to, a shaft, stitch-formingmechanism driven thereby, a presserfoot, a presserfoot carrier, afulcrum for said carrier, normally coacting ratchet and pawl members ofwhich one is mounted on said carrier and the other on a fixture, andautomatic means for periodically disengaging one of said coactingmembers from the other to unlock said carrier; in combination with arotatable member having an operating surface, said member being drivenby said shaft, andmeans adapted to be actuated by said surface, when theshaft is reversely rotated, to disengage one of said coacting lockingmembers from the other and retract said presserfoot carrier. y

`6. In a machine of the character referred to, a shaft, stitelrformingmechanism driven thereby, a presserfoot, a presserfoot carrier, afulcrum for said carrier, coacting ratchet and p'afwl members forlocking said carrier, one of said locking members being mounted on saidcarrier and the other on a fixture, and one of them being spring-pressedinto engagement with the other, automatic means for periodicallydisengaging one of said locking members from the other, and a threadclamp; in combination with means operative by reverse movement of saidshaft for opening` said thread clamp, and means likewise operative bysaid shaft for disenga ging one of said locking members from the otherand retractng said presserfoot carrier simultaneously with the aforesaiaction of said thread clamp.

7. A sewing machine having, in combination, a. rotary presserfootstructure, a spring arranged to act on said presser-foot structure topress the latter against the work, a pivoted member arranged to coactwith said operating member, .a spring arranged to hold said pivotedmember in position to coact with said operatingmember, said pivotedmember being arranged to receive angular' movement about with saidpresser-foot,

operating member,a movableits ivot from said operating member when theatter is rotating in one direction, and to receive bodily movement fromsaid operating member when the latter is rotating in the reversedirection, and means arranged to transmit such bodily movement of saidpivoted member to said presserfoot structure to retract the latter.

8. Asewing machine having, .incombination', a drivmg'shaft, a worksupport, an arm bearing a'presser foot for holding the Work againstthework support', `and means for moving the presser foot away 'from thework support inactive during the normal operation ofthe machine butacting when the machine .is turned backward including a link extendingdirectly between the presser' foot arm and the driving shaft andreciprocated by the driving shaft only when it is rotated in the reversedirection.

9. In a sole-sewing machine, the combination with a drive shaft, a Worksupport, and a movable presser-foot, of a pivoted member, meansconnecting said pivoted member and operating means on said shaftconstructed and arranged to move said pivoted member endwise uponreversal of said shaft, said connecting means being arranged to transmitsuch endwise movement to raisel said presser foot.

10. In a sole-sewing machine, the combination with a drive shaft, a worksupport, and a movable presser foot, of an arm pivoted on saidpresser-foot, and operating means on said shaft constructed and'arrangedto 100 move said arm endwise upon reversal of said shaft to raise saidpresser-foot, said operating means swinging said arm on its pivot duringthe normal rotation of said shaft.

11. In a machine of the character described, a shaft, stitch-formingmechanism arranged to be operated by said shaft when rotating in onedirection, a Work rest, a Work-engaging member arranged to coact withsaid work rest to clamp the work, and means arranged to be operated bysaid shaft when rotated in the reverse direction to retract saidwork-engaging member, said retracting means being arranged to beineffeetive 'for the purposestated when said 4shaft is rotated in thefirst-mentioned dif .worloengaging member arranged to coact with .saidwork rest to clamp the work,

means arranged to locksaid member against 1125.

nnelamping movement,-and means arranged to be operated by said kshaft tounlock said locking means and retract said work-engagf ing member onlywhen said vshaft is rotated in the reverse direction. 1an

13. In a machine of the character described,` a shaft,vstitchforminmechanism arranged yto be operated by sai shaft When rotating inonedirection, Work-engaging scribed, a shaft, stitch-formingi meansarranged to clamp the work, and

'means arranged to be operated by said shaftto act on said clampingmeans to release the Work only when said shaft is rotated in the reversedirection.

14. In a machine of the character demechanism arranged to be operated bysai shaft when rotating in one direction, thread-clamping i meansarranged to be operated by said shaft to clamp and release the thread,work-en- -gaging means. arranged to clamp the work,

' and 'neans arranged to be operated by said l5. In afmaohine of thecharacter described, a shaft, stitch-forming mechanism arranged to beoperated by said shaft rotating in one direction; a presserfoot, andmeans arranged to be operated by said shaft to retract said presserfootonly when said shaft is rotated in the reverse direction;AI

16. In a machine of the character described, a shaft,'stitchforminmechanism arranged to be operated by sai shaft turning in 'onedirection, a presserfoot, means arl ranged to lock said presserfoot, andmeans arranged to be operated by said shaft to. act

on/,said locking means to unlock said presserfoot only when said shaftis rotated in the reverse direction,

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

,HARRIE A. BALLARD.A Witnesses:

'GF/o. T. ARMSTRONG, M: E. CAPEN.

